Justice4Grenfell just drove Three Billboards-inspired ads round London

71 DEAD AND STILL NO ARRESTS? HOW COME?

Since the blaze at Grenfell Tower in June 2017 that left 71 dead, mainstream coverage of the story has dwindled. A lack of new information and accountability means the tragedy has slipped further and further out of the public eye, while no arrests have been made, and survivors have lacked support. Understandably, family members and the local community are growing impatient. Borrowing tactics from the Oscar-nominated Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Justice4Grenfell are signposting the inaction of the authorities with their latest protest.

In the film, a mother takes out a series of ads to ask her local police chief why no arrests had been made in the case of her daughter’s rape and murder. Similarly, the ads that appeared on trucks, which drove near the charred remains of Grenfell Tower and around the city, read: “71 DEAD”, “AND STILL NO ARRESTS?”, “HOW COME?” The style of each echoed the striking imagery of the film. Photographs of the stunt have been shared widely on Twitter.

It has been eight months since the Grenfell tower inferno and campaigners have been disappointed in the response.

Update: Dazed has received a recent statement from Justice4Grenfell that outlined their frustrations: “We feel the campaign was a great success yesterday. We set out intending to have our voices heard, and we believe that our call for justice is loud and clear. We won't be giving up this fight,” said Tasha Brade, spokesperson for the group. “We have been unsettled by the progress of rehousing the survivors, which Theresa May originally promised would be done within 3 weeks – 8 months later, and we still have hundreds homeless. We wanted to raise awareness that there are still another 297 flammable clad towers in the UK. Do we really have to wait for another Grenfell to happen? Doesn't every resident in this country deserve somewhere safe to live and raise their families?”

Brade continued: “Justice4Grenfell are equally concerned with the Inquiry, as there is no decision making, diversely experienced panel, as requested by the Survivors and Bereaved. We will not be ignored anymore. We will keep Grenfell in the news for as long as we have to.”